Women's Track & Field

UCSB Racks Up Several All-Conference Awards Heading Into NCAA Preliminaries

May 24, 2011

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- UC Santa Barbara had ten individual athletes and two relay teams earn Big West honors for their performance at the Big West Championships. Those athletes who placed top-three in their respective events were honored for their achievements.

The women finished second overall in the conference with 126 points behind Cal State Northridge. The women's team included three conference champions and several second place finishes. Amanda Moreno lead the 5,000 meters with fellow teammate Breanne Strenkowski finishing in second place. The day before, Strenkowski had won a conference title in the 10,000 meters.

Justine Diaz won the women's 800 meter run for her first conference title. Andrea Jacobs set an incredible new personal record time of 10:28.32 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase by 20 seconds and earned all-conference honors for her second place finish. The women's 4x400 meter relay team of Lauren Kodama, Justine Diaz,Amanda Rodriguez, and Jessica Johnson earned all-conference honors by finishing second.

The men placed fourth in conference with 132.5 points. Ryan Martin, has received several awards in addition to breaking the UCSB school record for his performance in the 800 meters. Martin, defeated the fastest man in the NCAA, Charles Jock of UC Irvine in one of the most thrilling upsets of the season to place first and earned all-conference honors.

Anthony Masci won the men's steeplechase and Julian deRubira finished in second place. Mitchell Haag won his first conference title in the high jump and Mike Larocca finished third overall. Derek Masterson all-conference honors in the decathlon and finishing third overall. André Piñon, Alvin Go,Jordan Scott and Ryan Martin contributed to an all-conference performance in the 4x400 meter relay and finishing third.

The Gauchos head to the NCAA Preliminaries this week in Eugene, Ore., May 26-28. Stand by to see if Ryan Martin beats the number one ranked runner in the 800 meter in the country once again.